Women rally despite backlash
THOUSANDS of Pakistani women rallied across the country yesterday, defying a backlash and warnings from right-wing groups who demanded the “obscene” event be cancelled.
Rallies were organised in all major cities, where thousands of women, men and children marched carrying placards with slogans against sexual harassment, child marriage and a lack of equal opportunities.
“Let’s smash the patriarchy and liberate the female population from oppression,” rights activist Farzana Bari said.
In Islamabad, students from a religious institution hurled stones at the marchers, despite a pledge by authorities to provide security for the rally.
The Aurat March, or Women’s March, organised to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8, has become the country’s largest rights activity, attracting tens of thousands of participants in the past two years.
Islamic groups and right-wing political parties opposed the march because they believe women are only entitled to the rights prescribed within the confines of Islam.
Opposition to the march intensified after last year’s event, which included slogans like “My body, my choice”, “My body is not your battleground” and “Stop being menstrual-phobic”.
The controversy escalated further this week when a TV and film writer used abusive language against a leading women’s rights activist who repeated one of the slogans during a live television debate. The head of a religious political party later accused marchers of vulgarity and asked his workers to block it. Another group organised a counter “modesty march”.
Meanwhile, police in Kyrgyzstan detained dozens of women’s rights activists yesterday after journalists witnessed the protesters being attacked by masked men. The activists gathered in one of the squares of capital Bishkek to stage a march of solidarity against violence on International Women’s Day.
But masked men, some wearing traditional Kyrgyz white hats, attacked the protesters, tearing apart their banners in the presence of journalists. The attackers left as soon as the police arrived at the scene and detained about 50 activists, mostly women.